Let Me Fall
by Katria Bloom
Summary: He had searched for months, looking for a safe place where no one would think to look for him. He had been over most of Europe, feeling more and more like Igor Karkaroff and hating himself for it, before he ended up on the doorstep of the one person he co


He had searched for months, looking for a safe place where no one would think to look for him. He had been over most of Europe, feeling more and more like Igor Karkaroff and hating himself for it, before he ended up on the doorstep of the one person he couldn't want to be indebted to less.

"Lupin, I need your help."

Lupin gave him a long, appraising look before stepping aside. "Come in then, before someone sees you."

And thus, the nightmare began.

* * *

It had been a long year for Harry Potter. He had spent the better part of the summer holed up in the Burrow with Ron and Hermione doing research to find not only the remaining Horcruxes, but the location of Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape as well. 

He was quite sure that he wasn't nearly as much help in the research department as he would like to have been, but he was more focused on hunting down those responsible for murdering Dumbledore. It was a risky plan, but it was something that Harry had to do.

Unfortunately, he had heard nothing about where they had disappeared to after that night, the night that had replaced the death of Cedric in his nightmares.

"…Good idea. Don't you, Harry?" Harry looked up from the book sprawled across his lap to meet Hermione's expectant gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hermione, I wasn't listening," he admitted, snapping the book closed.

Hermione gave him an exasperated look before she said, "I was just saying that a hunt for Professor Snape and Malfoy would be a good idea. I think that they may be our biggest lead when it comes to the Horcrux search. Who better to give us ideas on where Voldemort could store his soul than those closest to him?"

"Yes, and after we get all the information out of them, we can kill them," Ron added. "I'm all for doing the world a service."

Harry sighed. "We won't be able to find them here," he finally said. "If they're smart they will have left the country."

"And if they were smarter they would have split up," Hermione added. "You're right, of course. They'll be near impossible to find, but we must find them."

"We will," Ron said as he stood to leave. "I'm going to bed."

Checking her watch, Hermione stood as well. "It is rather late. Don't worry Harry, we'll find a way. We'll do more research tomorrow."

"And try to milk all the information we can out of my dad in the morning," Ron said. "Don't worry about it Harry."

Harry nodded them out of the room, waiting for a brief moment before pulling a duffel bag out from behind the couch and pulling on his coat before stepping out the front door of the Burrow, whispering a soft, "I'm sorry."

* * *

"Why are you here, exactly?" 

Severus Snape looked up from the parchment he was scribbling fiercely on, looking harassed. "I've been here over a week and you decide to ask me _now_?"

"Yes, well, I was giving you time to tell me," Remus responded. "You haven't yet, so I decided to ask. Why here?"

"I suppose you'll set me to the streets if I don't answer," Severus muttered. "Very well, I suppose this does warrant a bit of an explanation. Since you are a member of the Order, I'm sure you already know well enough that everyone and their bloody Crup is looking for me. I needed a place where I could continue my research and not suffer the unfortunate setback of being arrested."

"I'm a member of the Order, how do you know I haven't already told everyone that you're here?" Remus asked calmly. "You did murder Albus, you deserve to go to Azkaban."

"You can't honestly…" Severus muttered before shaking his head. "I did kill Albus, but it was a plan we had. There was no way that I could save the little Malfoy brat and not…" He took a deep breath. "He understood, I promise you. He always said that Potter would have to do this alone, I just never thought he meant it so literally."

Remus crossed his arms. "Am I supposed to believe that? Believe you killed Albus because he _asked_ you to?"

Severus started to argue, but then simply sighed. "I've answered your question. I don't have to explain myself as any father to you. Can I get back to work now, or do you have any other tedious questions to ask me?"

After a long moment of tense staring, Snape lowered his head back to the parchment, doing his best to ignore the presence of the werewolf.

* * *

Harry Apparated first to Grimmauld Place. He knew that this would more than likely be the first place Ron and Hermione would think to look for him, but he needed a place to sleep for the night. 

He entered the dark, musty house and headed straight to the wine cellar, tossing his bag to the floor and using it as a pillow. He wanted very much to conjure a bed, but he didn't want his magical signature detectable.

Not until he absolutely needed to use magic would he draw his wand, and he hoped it wouldn't be until the words 'Avada Kedavra' fell from his lips. He didn't care if it was a Death Eater of Voldemort himself on the other end.

He lay in the farthest corner of the cellar, trying to find a comfortable position on the hard dirt floor before drifting off in a fitful sleep full of flashing green lights and a person he just couldn't catch.

* * *

A slow throb began to materialise behind Snape's eye and he kneaded it slowly, the small, cramped text covering the numerous sheets of parchment lying around him swirling out of focus. 

Weeks of research. Pages of notes. So much work and all signs pointed to one place, a place that he didn't care to go back to. It would be too risky. He knew that he either had to go himself or find someone to go for him, because it had to be investigated further.

It was, after all, a very important factor in Potter's defeat of the Dark Lord. He had no idea if Potter and his minions were even _trying_, but he was. He had to.

He had promised Albus.

Severus debated with himself for a long time concerning Lupin. He knew that Lupin would want to be involved, but he highly doubted that he would appreciate being called to do the bidding of a murderer.

Finally, after going back and forth and back again, he folded up his notes and went in search of the werewolf, a search that didn't last very long considering the fact that he never ventured far away from his habits.

Severus dropped the papers down beside Lupin's cup of Earl Black and he looked up blankly.

"I need your help," Snape ground out between clenched teeth.

Lupin nodded silently before unfolding the papers. "What is all this?" As soon as he asked, a light dawned behind his eyes. "Oh…oh my, does this mean…?"

"Exactly," Snape replied before dropping into a seat across from him. "We've got to retrieve a Horcrux from Hogwarts."

* * *

In all honesty, Harry had expected it to be hard to find a Death Eater on the run. He had planned for a long and tedious search, possibly even having to leave England altogether. 

He certainly didn't expect to see a hooded Draco Malfoy step into Knockturn Alley after he himself had just dropped by Gringotts to withdraw a bit of money.

Harry was quick to follow him, keeping a fair amount of distance between them. Malfoy, it appeared, seemed to have forgotten to learn how to be inconspicuous. He looked so twitchy that he would undoubtedly draw all sorts of unwanted attention.

It was a good thing that he didn't have far to go. Malfoy turned down a side street and snuck up to a dingy building, knocking in three quick raps before the door opened a crack.

"Penguins are pretty," Malfoy hissed, and the door opened the rest of the way. He slipped in, his robe still wrapped tightly around him in a makeshift disguise.

Harry waited for a long moment before going over to the door himself, mirroring Malfoy's knocks. The door squeaked open minutely and Harry hissed, "Penguins are pretty," trying to make sure he didn't sound as if he believed the phrase was completely ridiculous.

The door swung open and Harry slid in past the burly doorman, looking around for Malfoy. The man narrowed his eyes, not liking the fact that Harry appeared like he had never been there before.

Harry finally set off in a purposeful direction, winding his way through the dark, dingy corridor. The whip of a cloak tail around a corner in front of him drew his attention and he started to jog, a shock of blonde hair catching his attention right before he shoved him against the wall, grabbing onto large handfuls of Malfoy's cloak.

As soon as Malfoy recognized Harry's face, his annoyed gaze melted away to a mix of fear and surprise. "P…_Potter_?" Malfoy gasped. "How did you…?" He tried to go for his wand, but Harry simply swatted his hand away from his pocket.

"You aren't incredibly stealthy," Harry snorted, feeling a familiar anger building inside of him. "And I must say that you are incredibly stupid to stay here. I severely overestimated your planning."

"Malfoy's eyes narrowed again as he shoved Harry away. "Fuck you, Potter. I'm exactly where…" he broke off, glowering at Harry suspiciously. "You know what Potter, I don't have to talk to you. Now if you don't mind…"

"Accio Malfoy's wand," Harry said lazily, holding out his free hand to catch Malfoy's ebony wand, tucking it into the back pocket of his trousers. "You do have to talk to me. Your whereabouts may not warrant its own team of Aurors, but it wouldn't surprise me if Snape's does when there are Aurors to spare."

Malfoy clenched his fists. "Potter, kindly do not talk about situations you know nothing about. You weren't there; you've no right to make ridiculous assumptions."

"That's where you're wrong," Harry replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "If you had paid any attention, you would have noticed two brooms leaning against the wall, not just one. I have an invisibility cloak, you moron. I saw what was going on. I heard what Dumbledore offered you, I saw your hand…"

"No…" Malfoy snarled. "You had no right…no right…"

Harry sighed, looking away from Malfoy. "I may not like you, but Dumbledore saw something in you. He was convinced that you were worth his time, and I trusted Dumbledore. If you're still willing to help…if you would still lower your wand…you can work with us. I'm not promising that we'll get along swimmingly, and I won't even venture to speak for anyone else, but we could really use your help. _I_ could really use your help."

"What do you want?" Malfoy asked, his tone suspicious. "What are you getting out of this? Salazar knows that you aren't volunteering your help out of the goodness of your heart. What do you want? Information on the inner workings? My soul? My award-winning Cauldron Cake recipe?"

Harry screwed up his face in confusion before shaking his head. "I just want any information you have concerning Snape. I have to find him and you were the last person to have seen him."

"I don't know anything," Malfoy replied quickly. "He dumped me here and left. I have no idea where he went."

Harry eyed him for a long moment, before offering a slow nod. "Fine. That's good for now." He looked around before deciding. "I'm…going to stay here, it seems like a good place to hide out, that is if no one sees you when you go wandering around outside."

"Why do you need to hide?" Malfoy asked without tact. "The press too much for you to handle? Did Weasley and Granger finally decide to start going at it in earnest and kick you out?"

"None of your business," Harry replied. "You didn't help me, why should I tell you why I left?"

Draco rolled his eyes and snatched his wand out of Harry's trousers before turning away. "I'm going back to my room. You're going to have to find one as well. Do try to leave me alone, won't you?"

Harry simply sighed, muttering, "As long as you don't hex me," as he set off in search of the least mouldy room.

* * *

The mission was a failure, to put it lightly. After Lupin added his input suggesting that the Horcrux was possibly in the Headmistresses office, they set off to search the room from top to bottom. 

"It's not here Lupin," Severus said finally, dropping down in a chair with a sigh. "You forced me to come back to Albus' office to search for something that was never here in the first place. Do you seriously dislike me that much?"

"I honestly thought it would be here Severus," Lupin replied as he closed a cupboard. "Dumbledore was the wizard who rivalled him most in power, it would have been entertaining for You-Know-Who to have a bit of his soul right under his nose. It fit in theory."

"Yes, well, theory isn't doing us any good, is it?" Snape hissed as he kneaded his temples. "There is a Horcrux in this castle, there has to be. But where?"

Lupin sank down in Albus' chair, grating on Severus' nerves even more. "Slytherin common room, maybe? Some place that was important to him…it might be in the Prefect's bathroom, or his award in the trophy room…"

But Severus had stopped listening. Finally, he interrupted him. "Some place important, you say? Like a place that only he could enter?"

"I…I suppose," Lupin said slowly just as dawning overtook his face, which annoyed Snape even more. Why did he keep doing that? "Oh…of course! Of course that's where he would put it! He couldn't have known that the person who was destined to defeat him would somehow receive his power to speak Parseltongue, he would have been convinced that it would be safe down there in the Chamber."

Severus had sank down in his hair, kneading his head with more force. "Lovely. Just…couldn't get any better."

"What?" Remus asked as he stood. "We know where it is, what's wrong?"

"It means," Severus snarled, "That we need Potter's help, and that's the last thing I want to have to ask for."

Lupin deflated a bit. "That could pose a problem," he finally said, dropping back down into his seat. "He wants you dead a little."

"I'm sure only a little," Severus said with an eye roll. He finally just said, "I have a few other leads, Albus told me about his orphanage, there might be one in Little Hangleton. We'll just have to…"

"We're going to get this one," Remus said, his tone annoyed. "I'll go to the Burrow and try to talk some sense into the boy. In the meantime you can make plans about how we are going to get into these other places you suspect may have…"

"You honestly think you can convince him to work with me and try not to kill me? That's got to be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard come out of your mouth, including 'Honestly Snape, Sirius isn't all that bad usually'."

"He's mature enough to think it through and make an intelligent decision," Remus replied, ignoring the last snide bit of Severus' question.

With a humourless laugh Snape stood, making his way to the exit. "You really don't know the boy, do you?" He asked as he heard Lupin follow him.

Lupin didn't respond until they were back in the corridor, the gargoyle springing back into place. He grabbed onto Severus' arm, forcing the Potions Master to face him. "And you think you do?" He asked softly with a gently brow arch.

Severus simply shrugged Lupin's hand off of him with the lack of anything to say hanging heavily in the air.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Draco spat, leaning back against the soot-caked hearth and crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't see why I should have to do this stupid research with you. I didn't volunteer to be your study partner." 

"You're going to help," Harry sighed for what seemed the thousandth time. "You want to. You're freedom depends on it. Just…think out where you think Voldemort would have a Horcrux. What places are the most important to him? What places would he trust enough to leave a bit of his soul lying around? Think Malfoy, even if you're a tad out of practice."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and sniffed. "Well, if he gave a sliver of his soul to my father, wouldn't his other inner circle Death Eaters have bits too? Aunt Bellatrix and Severus would be where to start, but from what I've heard about you and my Aunt Bella, you have a rather colourful history. She killed your dog, didn't she?"

Harry saw red as he glared over to Malfoy, who had a knowing smirk on his face. "Fuck you Malfoy," he snarled.

"Just making sure," Malfoy replied lightly. "Even still, it all comes back to Snape. I sure do wish I knew where he went."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Try to contact him. Write a letter or something."

Malfoy stood with a languid stretch. "As long as you promise not to kill him. I happen to like my godfather."

"I liked mine too," Harry replied in a soft tone before snapping, "Write a letter and I'll sneak into the Alley to mail it."

"After a long, penetrating stare, Malfoy shrugged and set off in search of parchment.

It wasn't until he was long gone that Harry unclenched his hands, the quill he had been holding snapped neatly in two.

* * *

"No idea," Hermione repeated, her voice shaking. "He disappeared three days ago. We don't know if he was kidnapped or if he's dead, or…" 

"He just left, Hermione," Ron cut in wearily. "He was tired of just sitting here and doing nothing. You know how he is."

"But why would he just leave without saying goodbye?" She asked, looking from Remus to Ron in search of an answer. "We would have gone with him, he knows that."

"I'm sure he simply didn't want to see you hurt," Remus toned bracingly. "And didn't want you to get hurt. He thinks the world of you two, I'm sure he believes you are safer without him around."

Ron scoffed, but Hermione nodded. "You're right, of course," she said softly. "I just wish he would have said goodbye."

"It was good of you to stop by," Ron added. "He would have really liked to have seen you."

"He's not dead Ronald!" Hermione whispered harshly. "He's just…missing."

Remus stood, feeling much like he had gotten nowhere. If Harry's best friends didn't know where he was, it was likely that he didn't want to be found. "Thank you two, very much . I'll…I'll see what I can do to find him."

"If he comes back we'll tell him you stopped by," Ron added gloomily.

Remus smiled reassuringly and nodded, letting himself out of the house before Apparating away. As he made his way through the shielding wards around his house he thought about Harry and where he could be hiding out. He thought firstly about Grimmauld Place, the obvious choice, but it was too obvious. If Harry were to go there, he would simply be waiting for someone to find him.

As he opened his front door, a thought crossed his mind that Harry wouldn't be at Number Twelve because the boy obviously didn't want to be found, especially by someone keen on dropping still more responsibility on him.

He pulled the door closed behind him and made his way into the study, where he knew he would find Snape nose-deep in some Dark text or another. He was dreading telling him the off-putting news so much that he was surprised to find Snape next to an open window, an unfamiliar owl perched on his shoulder and a letter clutched in his hand.

Snape looked up, his face noticeably more sallow than usual. "I know where we can find Potter," he hissed, dropping the letter and shooing the owl away. "Listen to me carefully, you have to say this exactly as I do or the fireplace will simply spit you back out."

He snatched up a pinch of Floo powder and tossed it into the flames before he called, "Darklight House, entrance password 'Penguins are pretty'."

He disappeared before he heard Remus chuckle at the absurd passkey.

* * *

"Snape." 

Harry's face was hard, like it was taking everything he had not to pull out his wand and hex him. "We need your help searching for Horcruxes," he continued. "If I could enlist the help of anyone but you I would, but the theory I have ensures that you are a rather important part."

"Funny," Snape replied, wiping a bit of soot from his sleeve. "The theory I have suggests the same of you. I would say it would be interesting to see whose idea pans out, but I daresay that the answer to that query seems rather obvious."

Harry's eyes darkened with rage and he started to reply. It was then that Remus tumbled out of the fireplace, looking slightly disoriented. "Remus?" Harry called, stepping forward. "What are you doing here? Why were you with _Snape_?"

"Why are you hiding out in this hole with Mr. Malfoy?" Remus quipped.

Harry's face wrinkled. "Touché."

"Where _is _Draco?" Snape asked, craning his neck to peer around Harry. "You haven't cursed him into submission and locked him away somewhere, have you"

Harry's jaw clenched before he shook his head. "Last I saw of the prat he was lounging about in the study, pretending to be working."

"And considering your views on what is work, Draco's leisurely behaviours must be simply dreadful," Snape replied in a biting tone before brushing past Harry in search of the study that Draco was meant to be inhabiting.

"Now Remus," Harry's tone was smooth as silk as he approached the man. "Why on _earth_ are you helping him?"

"It's a long story," Remus supplied before he pressed on. "Albus and Severus had a plan of some sort. Albus knew that he had to die, and the way Severus puts it, he did in no way want to kill Albus."

"You've got to be _kidding_!" Harry hissed, throwing up his hands. "You believe that load of…of course that's what he wants you to believe, so you don't report him to the Ministry of Magic."

"The Ministry knew, you simpering child." Harry stiffened before turning around, meeting Snape's gaze. He expected his eyes to be cold with fury, like all Slytherin's eyes tended to be and how they had always been in the past. He was wrong, however; the Potions Master's black gaze was boiling over with fiery hate. From the look on Malfoy's face as he stepped up next to him, he had never seen Snape this angry before either.

"What do you mean the Ministry knew?" Harry's voice was barely there, and verged on breaking. "They couldn't have done, they would never have..."

"Why else do you think no one is looking for Draco and I?" Snape continued, taking a few measured steps toward Harry. "Why would we have stayed in England if we were being hunted?"

Harry shook his head, backing himself against the wall. "There aren't any Aurors to spare...as soon as the war is over...they would have never let you..."

"I wasn't _let_," Snape hissed, his entire body shaking with rage. "I didn't have a choice. The fact that you have obviously never had to do anything you didn't want to do in your short little life is apparent. I would have given anything for the old man to change his mind, but he didn't. He didn't." He took a slow, steadying breath before finally adding, in a low, deadly snarl, "I've had enough judgement poured down upon me, I definitely don't need any more from you."

He backed away, his gaze still unwavering. Harry wanted to look away, but he wouldn't be the first to back down.

Finally, it was Snape who looked away, brushing past Harry into the study. Malfoy seemed too shocked to smirk, so he simply gaped after him. Finally he said, "Wow Potter. I think you hold the distinct honour of having made Severus Snape madder than he had ever been in his life. Congratulations."

Harry started towards the study and Remus went to intervene, but decided it was better to let them hash it all out in the beginning rather than allowing tension to steadily build.

"You might as well make yourself at home," Draco called to Remus as he threw himself on the moth-bitten couch. "What's going on in there could take hours. Days even."

Remus glanced to Draco hesitantly before lowering himself down by Draco's bare feet, dragging a smirk from the teen. Remus just gave him an odd look.

* * *

"I'll help you," Harry said from the doorway, afraid to actually set foot in the darkened study. "But I want help in return." 

Snape let out a low sigh, not lifting his face from his hands. "Naturally. What do you want? I hope it's nothing too trying."

"Occlumency lessons," Harry replied with a stern nod. "I want to pick up where we left off with our Occlumency lessons. I realize you..."

"No."

Harry's eyes widened, then narrowed to slits. "Then I won't help you. I need Occlumency lessons, you need my help for some reason. It works out."

"No," Severus repeated, finally looking up. "When I said I quit, I quit. Never again."

Harry shrugged. "Fine. I'll just go tell Remus that there is no point for you both to stay here." He turned on his heel as he heard Snape sigh in frustration.

"Fine."

Harry turned back around, one eyebrow raised. "Fine what, _Professor_?"

"I'll teach you Occlumency," he answered, already hating himself for giving in so easily. "Although I don't see why you were holding your help hostage, I should think you would want the Horcrux as much as I do."

Ah, so he had caught that, then.

Harry simply shrugged as he came back into the study, sitting down as far away from Snape as possible. "Let's get started with the Occlumency, then."

"I'm telling you what I need from you before we get into that," Snape cut in, giving Harry a scathing look. "Surely you must want to know what you've gotten yourself into."

Another shrug. "I'll have to do it whether or not I understand. That's my legacy, I suppose."

Snape was silent as he passed his notes over to Harry, giving him a moment to read over them before saying, "We think it's in the Chamber of Secrets."

"You need me to open the door for you," Harry said as he dropped the parchment to the floor. "Easy enough. Anything else I can do? Should I get the Horcrux for you as well, Merlin knows I wouldn't want you doing anything you feel like you _have_ to do. If you hadn't killed him, I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't have..."

Harry trailed off when he heard Snape draw a long breath in through his nose. He then stood, stalking towards the door of the study. He stopped right before he crossed the threshold, not turning back around but still addressing Harry. "Occlumency starts tomorrow."

Harry simply said 'okay' and Snape took his leave, pulling the door shut behind him. As Harry sat there, pondering what had just happened, he fought hard to keep the guilt twisting at his gut at bay. It was, he soon found, a losing battle.

* * *

First thing next morning was when they had planned to make the trek back to Hogwarts to continue their search. The walk up to the castle from the Apparation point in Hogsmeade seemed to take forever, as they were travelling in silence. Harry, leading the group with a determined look on his face, was walking very quickly, putting quite a bit of space between himself and the rest of the group. Snape, not to be outdone, was stalking behind him. 

Remus and Draco walked at a more comfortable pace, Draco almost strolling. Having taken the uncomfortable silence for long enough, Draco finally turned to Remus and asked, "Why were you with Severus? Aren't you enemies? And before you ask, Potter followed me back to the Darklight House and threatened to expose my whereabouts. I'm fairly sure that wasn't the case between you two, you don't seem much the threatening type when you're not a raging monster. No offense."

"None taken," Remus replied with a chuckle. "As for Severus, he showed up at my home and asked for help. A place to stay so he could do his Horcrux research. He was helping, even after everyone had turned on him. Honestly, it reminded me of my friend Sirius a bit."

"Sirius?" Draco echoed. "Sirius _Black_ you mean? The _murderer_?" His eyes widened before he continued with, "I must say, Mr. Lupin, I'm impressed."

"He wasn't a murderer," Remus said, his tone worn. "Wrongfully imprisoned. Surely you knew that, you must have seen Peter Pettigrew at some point."

Draco shrugged. "May have." They walked in silence for a bit longer before Draco buried his hands in his pockets. "Severus would kill you if he heard you say that he reminded you of Sirius Black. He hated him, if I recall his furious rants correctly. I may be confusing them with my mother's furious rants about her turncoat cousin, however."

"No, you're right," Remus replied with a sad smile. "I'd forgotten that you were related to him. Sort of remind me of him, actually."

Draco glanced over to the werewolf before he quickly returned his gaze to the castle looming in front of them. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Remus watched Harry disappear into the castle's large front doors before he replied, "As well you should."

The rest of the walk was taken in heavy, but not uncomfortable, silence.

* * *

Retrieving the Horcrux proved to be fairly straightforward. Harry led them into Myrtle's lavatory, told the door to open, and it did so. He stepped aside, motioning toward the entrance. "There you are, then. I've got to go with you, there's another door that needs opened farther down in there." 

Snape nodded before looking over to where Remus and Draco were standing.

"I for one have no desire to go down there," Draco said with a quick shake of his head.

"I suppose we'll stay up here, then," Remus said as he glanced to Harry, who simply looked bored. "Be careful."

More of the bored look before he climbed down into the entrance, a resounding thump echoing out as he landed on the flooded floor below. Snape shrugged off his robes before following him down.

The Horcrux turned out to be the large, slimy statue of Salazar Slytherin. After stepping over the Basilisk skeleton, Harry stopped, staring into Slytherin's face.

Snape continued forward, pulling out his wand and casting several spells toward it. One spell in particular drew a glowing ball from it's stone mouth, and Harry watched as, with the flick of his wand and an incantation in a language he didn't recognize, caused the glowing mass to explode.

Snape hit his knees as a deafening crack sounded from the statue. Harry looked up as Salazar's head began to fall from it's position. Harry whipped out his wand and shouted the first thing that came to mind: "Accio Snape!"

Just as the head landed right where the Potions Master was kneeling not seconds before, Harry was knocked off his feet by the force that another body has when colliding with another. He bounced back into a puddle of stagnate water, Snape sprawled on top of him.

Harry was quick to shove him off, sitting up slowly as to not make his pounding head spin any more than necessary.

"Two down, four to go," Snape whispered as he stared at the headless statue.

"Three," Harry called as he made his way back to the entrance. "I've already destroyed the locket. Found it at Grimmauld Place. Turns out Sirius' brother was the one who took it."

Snape let out a bark of laughter as he followed behind Harry.

* * *

As much as he loathed to admit it, Potter's theory had been right. After he found out that it had actually been Draco's theory, he felt a little better for it, but he still didn't like that he had been outsmarted by a couple of teenage boys. 

It took almost a week of rigorous Occlumency lessons and research for Severus to remember what the Dark Lord had given him. It had been years and he was quite sure that it had been something small that he more than likely would have simply put away somewhere. When he finally recalled what it was he went back to Spinner's End, Harry coming along because he insisted that he should.

While he rummaged around in his workroom in search of the small knife that he used for chopping ingredients, Harry slowly wound his way through his house, not saying anything as he did so. When it was time to go, Severus found Harry in his bedroom, flipping through a book that he remembered had been laying on his bedside table.

"I have it," Snape said, holding up the knife for Harry to see. "We can destroy it, then do your bloody Occlumency lesson. Are you done rifling through my things?"

"I didn't know you liked Quidditch," Harry said musingly as he lay the book, _A History of the Falmouth Falcons_, aside. "And such a crap team, to boot."

Snape rolled his eyes before heading back to his fireplace. "Didn't know you cared," He said before tossing Floo Powder into the fireplace.

When he arrived back in the study in the Darklight House, he pulled out his wand and waited for Harry to emerge from the grate. With a cloud of soot he did so, climbing up from the floor and coughing ash from his lungs.

"_Legimens_," He said lazily before he found himself dragged into Harry's thoughts. They rushed over him quickly and he found himself unable to focus on any one scene for too long. It wasn't until he spied a familiar scene that he could have went the rest of his life never seeing again that he stopped.

A flash of green light lit up the tower and he watched Dumbledore fall through Harry's eyes. His eyes fell away toward himself, and he felt Harry's stomach twist in an all too-familiar way. Betrayal. Harry, in that moment, had felt betrayed. By Severus.

Harry had finally pushed Snape out of his head and he was sprawled on the floor, panting. He refused to open his eyes as he climbed to his feet. "Don't say anything," Harry ground out, but he needn't have. He wasn't planning on it anyway.

"Are you ready?" Severus asked. Harry nodded briskly and Snape cast the spell again, this time meeting resistance. He pushed harder, finally breaking through. He saw Potter at Dumbledore's funeral, holding the Weasley girl's hand tightly before he saw him break her heart.

It was then that Harry pushed him out with a yell, furious tears rolling down his cheeks. He refused to meet Snape's eyes as he stood from where he had fallen. "Again," he hissed. "Do it again."

Severus shook his head. "We'll continue tomorrow. Right now I'm going to destroy this..."

"No," Harry said, slowly shaking his head. "Cast it again. I can do it."

"I don't want to see anything else in your mind," Severus finally said. "I don't know how much worse it gets."

Harry clenched his jaw before saying, "Please."

Severus gave him a long look before leaving the study.

* * *

Draco stifled a yawn, lowering his wand. "I'm tired Potter. Can we stop? I've seen you and your smelly friends enough for one day." 

Harry sighed. "Fine. I...I think that I've made progress. You didn't get into my head that last time."

"I think I fell asleep," Draco replied. "Why can't you do this with Snape? What's he doing?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Why should I know?"

"Calm down, I was just asking," Draco said as he tucked away his wand. "I just thought that you two were getting on better. Are you not?"

Harry rolled his eyes and sat down. "Not really, no."

"Where is Severus?" Remus asked as he poked his head into the study. "Have either of you seen him?"

"Nope," Draco replied. "Has he disappeared?"

"He's been gone for a few hours, yes," Remus said with a sigh. "Do you think he went after another Horcrux? He wouldn't not say anything...would he?"

"Don't care," Draco said as he rose. "I'm going to bed."

Remus muttered 'good night' before checking his own watch. "I'm going to go as well. Goodnight Harry. See you tomorrow."

Harry nodded and smiled as Remus left as well. Harry lay back on the couch, trying to practice clearing out his mind. He found himself drifting off to sleep as the fireplace flared to life and he sat up quickly.

"Snape? Is that you?"

Snape stepped into the study, clenching a necklace in one hand and pressing the other to his side to stop the bleeding. "I got...Bellatrix..." Snape wheezed dropping the necklace so he could pull out his wand, casting a healing charm on himself before straightening up. "There's only one left, and it's with Voldemort."

"Nagini?" Harry asked, and Snape nodded once. "Is Bellatrix dead?" Harry asked. The dark look that Snape gave him was telling enough. "Good," Harry added, standing up and glaring at the broken necklace. "I'm glad she's dead."

Snape glanced down to the necklace as well, silently agreeing.

"Are you hurt?" Harry asked, motioning to Snape's side. "Did the spell fix it?"

Snape nodded, ignoring the blood on his hands. "I'm fine. Why aren't you in bed? It's late."

"I'm..." Harry buried his hands in his pockets. "I wasn't tired." Snape gave him an odd look before nodding. Harry made his way to the door, making it about halfway before he asked, "Why didn't you ask me to go with you? I would have. I may not trust you anymore, but you can trust me."

If Harry expected Snape to flinch at that comment, he was disappointed. Snape simply said, "You're the one who has to defeat the Dark Lord, I can't have you dying at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. You'd do better just to stay here."

"You'd worry?" Harry pressed, not sure why his chest clenched as he asked it.

Snape walked past him, leaving the study, but not before echoing, "I'd worry."

* * *

The next morning Occlumency resumed. Even when hit unexpectedly, Harry blocked Snape out. 

"It's time for me to go then," Harry said with a final nod. He called for Remus, who was followed closely by Malfoy. "Remus, there are letters in my room for Ron and Hermione. If...if I don't come back, pass them on for me."

Remus, though confused, agreed. Harry left briefly, returning with his invisibility cloak, which he passed on to Draco to hold, and his wand. He took a deep breath, looking around frantically for something to focus on. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and he looked over at it, the long fingers of Snape's hand looking strange and foreign against his green Weasley jumper.

"You can't go alone," Severus said with force. "You'll..."

"I'm the one meant to kill him, remember?" Harry said, not lifting his eyes. "I can't have you getting killed by the likes of Lord Voldemort. I'll be fine. Well, I might not be fine, but..."

"Potter," Severus hissed, tightening the grip on his shoulder. "You'll need help, I'll...I'll help you."

Harry shook his head slowly. "No."

"You can trust me," Snape pressed, shaking him a bit. "You know you can trust me, you're just too bloody stubborn to admit it."

Harry chuckled and said, "I know."

"Please," Severus whispered. "Harry, please let me..."

With that Harry backed away, finally looking up to catch his eye. There wasn't begging in his gaze, just an intense burn that he had only seen once before. That seemed like so long ago. "Stay here," Harry said. "Stay so...so I can come back and tell you everything that happened and you can tell me how I could have killed him better. Stay so I have a reason to come back."

Severus started to argue, but could think of nothing to say. When he didn't reply, Harry turned and asked, "Where's my cloak?"

"Right here in my arms where you left it," Draco replied flatly, holding it out for him. "Do try not to get killed Potter. That would be a rather hard thing to explain away."

Harry smirked, something that he hadn't done before his time with Draco, and took the cloak. "I'll do my best."

Remus lay both of his hands on Harry's shoulders and smiled in a way that could only be described as paternal. "Be careful, Harry."

"Always," Harry replied, returning the smile before turning back toward Snape, taking a deep breath. He took a hesitant step forward, not sure what he was going to do until he was doing it. His head rested against Snape's collarbone and he felt the other man's arms snake around him tightly and oh _god_ how he didn't want to go.

He pulled away, swallowing the burning lump in his throat over and over. "I will come back," Harry said, not sure if he was trying more to reassure himself or Severus. "I'll come back."

"I know," Snape said, and then something strange happened. Severus Snape smiled. At Harry Potter.

Harry returned the smile as he stepped into the Floo.


End file.
